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Wednesday, 6 February 2013

League Two round-up: 05/02/13

February kicked off with decidedly mixed fortunes for the
clubs at the top of League Two following back-to-back wins for Port Vale and a
Saturday victory for Cheltenham, while there was a surprise defeat Monday night
for early season pacemakers Gillingham at a resurgent Wycombe.

Lee Hughes made his home debut at Vale Park and promptly opened
his account with a brace. The afternoon started badly for Accrington, who were
a man down within four minutes – Charlie Barnett the offender. The visitors did
well to hold on, as the first half ended goalless, but three goals in 16
minutes killed the game off for the hosts. Hughes opened the scoring on 50
minutes, volleying in from Ryan Burge’s assist. Burge was also the provider for
the Valiants’ second, his free kick being turned in by another of Mickey Adams’
January signings: veteran Darren Purse, newly arrived from Plymouth Argyle.
Hughes wrapped things up with just over 20 minutes left to play with a cool
finish – the win sees Vale go top while Stanley remain 20th.

Cheltenham move back into the automatic promotion places following
their victory over Torquay. The deadlock was broken after the half hour mark,
when defender Keith Lowe headed home for his fifth goal of the season. The Rubies
doubled their lead early in the second half when Shaun Harrad slotted the ball
past Michael Poke in the Gulls’ net. Rene Howe got his name on the score sheet
late on, but it was no more than a consolation and Torquay slip to 16th.

Meanwhile on Monday, Martin Allen’s Gills missed out on
an opportunity to regain top spot and slumped to defeat against Wycombe. The
only goal came in the 85th minute as Matt McClure snatched a win for
the Chairboys from 10 yards out. The victory was marred however, by an incident
involving goalkeeper Jordan Archer who was attacked by a home supporter.

Back to the weekend’s action and Friday night saw a
six-pointer as Bristol Rovers and Barnet met at the Memorial Stadium. Victory
for the Gas saw them move out of the drop zone and although the Bees finished
the evening in 21st, by the end of the weekend they found themselves
back in the bottom two. Fabian Broghammer put the home side ahead 12 minutes
from time. Harry Crawford set up a tense finish as he netted his first Bees’
goal since joining from Non-League Dartford but two minutes into stoppage time
Ryan Burge drilled the ball past Graham Stack and secured an important three
points for Rovers.

There were also huge wins for Rotherham against
Northampton and Morecambe who travelled to York. Victory for the Millers saw
them end their three-match losing streak and leapfrog their playoff rivals.
Daniel Nardiello gave Rotherham the lead before the break and he converted from
the spot after Ben Harding tripped Mark Bradley. Following the interval, Steve
Evans’ side extended their lead with two goals in four minutes: Ben Pringle’s
curler was followed by an effort from David Noble. Defender Clarke Carlisle
pulled one back for the Cobblers but it was too little too late.

Morecambe also ran out resounding winners on their first
league meeting at York City’s Bootham Crescent. Lewis Alessandra fired the away
side in front midway through the opening period but minutes later the
Minstermen equalised – Nick Fenton felled Chris Smith and Jason Walker duly dispatched
the awarded penalty. Kevin Ellison tapped in to restore the Shrimps’ lead late
in the second half and two goals in the final three minute from Jack Redshaw
wrapped up the win. Redshaw’s double saw him enter double figures for the season
and helped Morecambe climb to 12th in the table.

Southend left it late to secure maximum points against
Oxford, substitute Ryan Leonard netting five minutes from time having been on
the pitch for just four minutes. His header from Michael Tomlin’s centre
separated the sides.

Elsewhere in League Two, four goals were shared between
play-off contenders Fleetwood and Bradford. Alan Goodall headed the home side
in front before Nahki Wells levelled for the Bantams, all ahead of the half
time whistle. The League Cup finalists then took the lead early in the second
half but Ryan Dickson’s effort was cancelled out by John Parkin’s late penalty.
A point each was probably a fair result.

Two goals in the first half left AFC Wimbledon and Burton
with a point apiece. The Wombles were leading for all of nine minutes and Gary
Alexander’s goal – his first since joining from Crawley – was followed by an
equaliser from Michael Symes, another January window signing. Brewers’ defender
Zander Diamond saw red with 15 minutes remaining but neither side could force a
winner and Wimbledon remain bottom.

Rochdale and Chesterfield also played out a 1-1 draw and
it was the away side who drew first blood in this one. Jay O’Shea’s side-foot
on 55 minutes put the Spireites ahead before Bobby Grant levelled 11 minutes
later. His 25-yard curler earned Dale a point but it wasn’t plain sailing and
Grant was later dismissed for his challenge on Sam Togwell.

Exeter and Aldershot sit at opposite ends of the table
and their stalemate did neither side a favour, as both teams need points for
differing reasons. Plymouth and Dagenham & Redbridge also played out a
goalless draw but a point for Argyle was enough to see them move to the safety
of 22nd – albeit on goal difference.

Yesterday evening saw two games with teams still playing
catch-up. A late strike for Bristol Rovers’ Oliver Norburn helped them snatch a
point at high-flying Cheltenham. The Rubies had been ahead through Shaun
Harrad’s 12-yard effort and although his goal separated the sides at half time
and looked like proving the winner, Norburn equalised four minutes into added
time. It was also top v bottom as Port Vale hosted AFC Wimbledon and the match
at Vale Park was nothing short of a demolition. Lee Hughes continued his
goal-scoring run to give Vale an early lead. A double from Ashley Vincent
rounded up the comfortable victory – his first went in via a deflection with 35
minutes played; his second was drilled home in the final quarter.

There’s a full complement of fixtures on Saturday and
while league leaders Port Vale will hope to extend the gap at the top against
lowly Barnet, Gillingham will look to reduce the deficit despite their tough
trip to Bradford. Also at the top, it’s 4th meets 6th as
Burton host Rotherham while at the wrong end of the table, Aldershot and
Plymouth (21st and 22nd respectively) will play out
another six-pointer!